New information from DA delays Erin Corwin murder trial
Jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday for the man accused of murdering Erin Corwin in June of 2014, but newly discovered information from the district attorney’s office has pushed Christopher Brandon Lee’s jury trial back to the end of June.
Lee’s pretrial conference is scheduled for May 20 and the jury trial will take place beginning on June 27, pending any new developments.
According to officials with the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, the new information, which hasn’t been disclosed, was turned over to the defense and resulted in Wednesday’s continuance.
The case was moved to San Bernardino in September of 2015 after the only two judges who sit in on court cases in Joshua Tree were disqualified from hearing the murder case.
Case Developments (Sept. 22, 2015:
New developments are occurring with the Erin Corwin murder trial.
Christopher Brandon Lee, the man accused of killing the 19-year-old woman, will soon be appearing in another court room after the only two judges who sit in on court cases in Joshua Tree were disqualified from hearing the murder case.
A petition was filed to reassign the case to a different courthouse and it was granted Tuesday. The courts have now moved proceeding to San Bernardino, according to court documents.
Erin Corwin was married to a 29-Palms Marine and she vanished on June 28, 2014. After searching for her for several weeks, investigators finally found her body on Saturday, August 16 in the Rose of Peru Mine in Joshua Tree; one of more than 100 mine shafts investigators searched in effort to find the missing woman.
Court documents reveal testimony, text messages in Erin Corwin murder case
Lee is accused of killing the pregnant Marine wife and then dumping her body 140 feet down the mine shaft near the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base. A crime report said Lee also left behind tire marks and bullet casings, which led investigators to him.
Lee and Corwin were neighbors on the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base. Investigators believe they were having an affair.
Lee’s trial will now be in front of Judge Glenn Yabuno at the San Bernardino Justice Center, according to court records filed from a hearing on Tuesday.
Lee will be back in that San Bernardino Court room on Thursday morning.
News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 have been tracking this case since June of 2014, and we’ll continue to keep you updated with any future developments from court.
